Baby's stinky diaper gets woman kicked off Seattle bus, she says

SEATTLE -- A woman is complaining to Metro Transit that a driver kicked her off a bus in Seattle because of her baby's stinky diaper.

Nichole Hakimian was taking her 1-year-old son to a clinic Tuesday because of an intestinal illness, KOMO News reported.

"He had just pooped in his diaper as soon as I got on, because he was having diarrhea," she said. "And right after that, she told me I had to get off the bus."

When Hakimian asked why, she said the driver said, "Your baby, he smells really bad, and it's not fair that we all have to smell that."

"I said, 'My son is sick. I'm taking him to a doctor's appointment.'"

Nonetheless, the driver stopped the bus and let her out about a half mile from the clinic, she said.

Hakimian, who is four months pregnant, found a nearby place to change the diaper. She caught another bus to the clinic and learned her baby was suffering from a stomach bug.

She complained to Metro, and the King County transit agency investigated.

Spokesman Jeff Switzer said the agency apologized to the woman for the inconvenience. He said the bus driver has an excellent employment record and is a mother and grandmother who felt badly about the situation.

"But she felt she had to advocate for other riders because the smell was so overwhelming," said Switzer, who added that no operational changes are planned because of the incident.